Fly from New York to Rome round trip for $299. Really.

Arthur Frommer

Published
4:00 am PST, Thursday, January 18, 2007

Imagine flying round trip between New York City and Rome for less money than you'd pay to take a shuttle flight round trip between New York and Boston. Imagine flying your family of four -- or any group of four -- on a springtime trip to the Eternal City for a total airfare cost of less than $1,200 for the entire group.

This spring, you'll be able to make that round trip from New York for $299 per person from April 21-May 8 aboard an Italian airline called Eurofly. This promotional airfare might be the lowest per mile in aviation history.

Eurofly has been operating throughout the world for more than 15 years, but it did so in the past as a charter airline for Alitalia. Last year, it began flying the Atlantic for the first time as an independent carrier under its own name, from New York to Italy's Rome, Bologna, Naples and Palermo, Sicily. The $299 round-trip fare, which will be guaranteed to at least 1,000 passengers, is obviously an attempt by the Italian company to make a big splash, impressing its name on the minds of American travelers.

There are conditions, of course. The $299 round-trip fare can be booked only on the airline's Web site (www.euroflyusa.com), and it can be purchased starting Sunday. The last date to make reservations and purchase tickets at the $299 price is Feb. 28.

The $299 includes the standard transatlantic fuel surcharge ($140) but does not include government-imposed taxes ($69), which transatlantic passengers to Italy pay on all airfares. Beyond that, you simply pay $299 -- less than you'd usually lay out to shuttle round trip between Boston and New York.

Your Eurofly flight will depart for Rome from New York's JFK airport between April 21 and May 8. There is no minimum length of stay in Europe, but all travel must be completed by May 13. You can schedule to come back to New York on a Eurofly flight from either Rome, Naples or Bologna at no extra charge, but you'll pay $100 more to come back from Palermo. Business-class seats are available for $999 per person round trip.

At some point in aviation history, someone might have charged less per mile than this, but I doubt it. And a price this low to a destination as remarkable as Rome surely is unique.

Springtime is the most desirable period of the year for visiting sunny Italy, and the glories of its ancient capital -- the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, the Appian Way and the Pantheon, Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel, among scores of other world-renowned sights -- are most enjoyable in late April and early May. A $299 airfare enables you to keep the total cost of your stay within affordable limits and enjoy an affordable, long-distance adventure with several travel companions.

Again, take note that this is an Internet-only airfare that will be offered to the first 1,000 people to request it. For more information, go to www.euroflyusa.com.